Agree completely about taking shots. As for our guys practicing on the same field, I think it's quite clear that they do - Our attack is so slow to develop that our defenders seem shocked every time another teams gets the ball upfield quickly in transition and seemingly have no idea what to do to stop it. In practice, all they see is a bunch of guys standing on the ball and waiting for the defense to get set before trying to do anything.
We played with no rhythm. We played with no heart. We didn't move off the ball. We didn't exhibit skill on the ball (except for Jaime). We were disorganized in defense. We let one goal completely demoralize us. We moved the ball around slowly, if at all. We made way too many ridiculous attempts at sliding tackles. We had no crossing skills. We had no endeavor. We had no touch in front of goal. ... This is not the DCU I know. We let a vastly inferior team skill-wise (shown in the first part of the first half where we were dominating the match and they were reduced to pathetic attempts at counters from deep in their own half) come to control the flow of the game. Blanco is a cheating, whining, diving asshole and deserves every kick he gets, but we were horrible.
Stationary! Yes. I have seen time after time in the second half a DC player tried to make a play. His teammates were just standing around - stationery - until the player got outnumbered and lost the ball. Some folks blame Emilio for his lack of punch. I agree, but he almost played in midfield late in the game because the midfield was so poor that little service was going in his way. Whose territory is it supposed to be? Simms and Dyanchenko.
No not really. I'm a realist and though I did pick this team to win the East, I saw it from the beginning of the season and didn't pay heed to the excuses thrown out game after game about travel, altitude and other assorted maladies. The only part of the this team that I'm "glass half full" about is that Gallardo is a damn good player and it's a shame that we won't see that until some serious changes are made to this roster.
I agree with a lot of what your saying. Kevin Payne was angry to say the least after the game not only at the players but at the FO and the Coaching staff. DCU way over paid for players in the off season and / or has not done a good job of preparing them for the season. I think DCU has fallen victim to believing the grass is greener on the other side of the hill even though experience tells you otherwise. Existing players from last year were underrated even though they had been major contributors to solid teams the prior 2 - 3 seasons. Gomez, Perkins Gross and (since he hasn't played yet) Olsen have been huge losses in those elements that count towards providing leadership on the field and there impact on play. Isn't 20/20 Hindsight great..... <G>
I don't think thats the case. After seeing this team play for the last 3 months, I have strong reservations about the talent level. I don't think its a matter of effort. In the game last night I thought the effort was there but many of these players are flat out not good enough for the improved level of play in MLS. The only new player that I am impressed with has been Martinez. Gallardo, I don't know. He seems to have great skill and vision, but for whatever reason just isn't very effective, or at least has not demonstrated an ability to control/impact a game to the level a DP of his money/pedigree should. In my opinion, at this point Paralta and Neil are busts, while Carvello hasn't really been given a chance despite a number of poor or uninspiring performances by Wells.
An ohter observation, The reason Adu was not effective was his zise or lack thereof. with that said we get rid of Gomes and pick up Neil....who probably is 5'3" 110 lbs witha 5" vertical makes him 5'10" what a joke....he spends 80% of the time on the ground and whos idea was to put him at fron to try to head corner kicks an other JOKE!
So Goff's report today is all about Payne calling out the players for effort and Soehn blaming Tino for Mapp's goal --- nobody asking where our midfield destroyer was on either goal. But the implication of the Payne tirade was that it was the players fault -- wasn't his and Kasper's for flirting with players who wouldn't come, for letting Gomez go over 30K and another year on the contract, for signing a 4'10 inch striker without speed or skill, for making Luciano a DP after it was clear that Gomez had a lot to do with his strike rate, and for spending a fortune on Gallardo who seems to be what PSG thought he was -- limited in his ability to effect a game anymore atleast in this league. Those decisions aren't the players'. It wasn't the players who had Quaranta playing wing, with Burch on the other side and never switching to throw Shitcago off. Both are learning how to play where they are. It wasn't the players who decided that Dyachenko was a central player in a 3-5-2. Now the players were clearly discouraged after both goals but the two Geraldo's never quit, nor did Namoff and Burch, and for that matter no one can fault the effort and work rate of Niell. So who's Payne calling out? Tino and Emilio? Jamie who never quit at all. Kirk and Doe (our striker from the witness protection program). Tino was out of the league on waivers so he is clearly to blame. I blame Payne, Kasper and Soehn in that order. Now lets see if any turn around is possible.
A few random thoughts: Marc Burch - Yes some of the crosses go long but where has there been any effort from anyone to be in position for or fight for any cross? I am less worried about the service and more about the targets Gonzalo Peralta - He can yell, some said he did last night I never saw it but he is soft and last night he was like an 11 year old. Ball watching and marking no one. On the second goal I am less worried about Wells being "caught off his line" and more about the fact that Peralta did everything but turn around and run away from Blanco to give him yards of space to take the shot Rod Dyachenko - Moms please don't ever let Rod baby-sit your children. He will give them away as he does the ball. Please count the number of times the ball goes to Rod, he tried to trap or pass it and he gives it away 70% of the time or more Franco Niell - When I see him play and say to myself "I would not pick him in the top 5 picks of my Sunday morning pickup game." that is a bad thing Santino Quaranta - ok he has to play on the wing right now. He is still learning the position. GET OFF HIS BACK EVERYONE ON IT! Oh and full credit for him taking the blame on Mapp’s goal but I blame either Wells or Peralta. I play both sweeper and keeper at times. It is the central defenders responsibility to call out the marks! Zach Wells - This is the first time I have seen him call out his defense. He needs to take control of his defense. You wear the gloves you are in charge.
Last night's game was disappointing, but considering that three of the best players on United's roster (Olsen, Gallardo and Fred) weren't available for the match, the result was predictable. Somewhere around post 15, RayWhitney said Quaranta was the best player on the field, but I can't agree. While Quaranta attacked well, he was caught ball watching on the first goal, marking space instead of closing down Mapp, and it cost United, who up to that point had not played a bad first half. Had that goal not occurred, with the amount of possession DC had, they could have worn Chicago down. The second half actually opened quite well for United, and they were opening up some spaces by changing the point of attack. The final pass was often poor, though, and when Simms let Blanco in behind him for the second goal, it was all over. That's when the energy left the game for DC. After that, DC did suck. Before that, they might not have been as organized as you'd like to see, but the effort was certainly superior to the Colorado match. While they weren't effective, I saw them working and chasing the game hard, which was a component previously missing. Overall, Namoff had a steady, decent game. Dyachenko didn't play as badly as some have suggested, but I like him better as a substitute. Wells made some spectacular saves, but his positioning mistakes cost him again. He has the physical tools to succeed professionally, but he needs to stay focused on positioning himself better. Martinez worked his butt off, and Peralta had a better game than before. Burch was slow in making decisions. When the option available to him is something other than "cross the ball with the left foot" he seems really stumped for an answer. Up front, Niell worked his socks into the ground, but to what effect? His decision making was suspect the whole night through. Emilio looked more committed, but his decisions were also questionable. Jaime played smart, and played very well under pressure, but he's just not the threat in the box he once was. Doe was anonamous (pardon the pun).
All this means is that this is the year we suck during the regular season but make the playoffs. As long as our form comes around at the end we can win the MLS Cup, as many teams have previously demonstrated. Granted, I'd rather win the Supporter's Shield, but that's just me. Don't see that happening this year.
I must disagree, sorry. Santino's job is to come back and help. Wells job is to call out the marks if Peralta does not. Where was Peralta on that play by the way you ask, he being the central defender? He was outside of Martinez. Yes Tino could have picked up Mapp.......had anyone with his back not to the play coming back to helped identified Mapp. I play both keeper and central defense. Calling out the marks must be done. Dyachenko makes the same exact mistakes in reserve matches that he does in full matches. He gives the ball away. His postioning is not he issue, it is his decision making. You know the backbone of what an A-Mid is supposed to be good at.
this much is correct. When you play right mid and your team is defending, you track back with your opposing left mid, goal side (and not 6 yards goal side, either). It's handy if the GK and central defenders call out your marks, but this much is sure. It was Tino's job to track Mapp, and he left him to watch the ball and mark space. I understand that he's a forward first, but it was his error that cost United the goal, all right.
why all the love for quaranta??? his touch is poor, his crosses always find the near post defender, he was constantly out of position, and him not tracking back and pressuring the ball caused the first goal, sure he played his butt off, but the quality was shitastic at best, if anyone gets love from last night's debacle, its moreno, 90 mins of effort, touch, and prowess, no one around him doing anything to help niell, im 5'2'', but i don't pick myself off the ground every 2 seconds, he's trying too hard to get a call, vaughan caught on quick, he needs to be on the wings, where his size won't be a factor the players need a kick to the ass, if someone can drive by rfk right now, lemme know if the entire team is doing sprints right now, if they aren't, fire tom soehn will vw hand out trash bags the next home game?
We're going to have to go on a hell of a run to make the playoffs this year considering the format change.
No way I could have posted after I got home as there was too much anger. So, just plain unhappy now. Realizing no Fred and Gallardo when I got to the stadium I was sure we were going to lose the midfield battle yet again. Seeing the 3 man back line I thought Chicago would burn the back 3 as bad as NE's. Then the game started and we actually looked good. Kept our shape, held the ball and actually took some menacing shots from 25 to 30 yards out. Then, just like last year vs. Chicago in the playoffs, our defense goes to sleep, this time on a freakin throw in. Peralta is out of position because he is on the sideline and covers the wing on the throw in. Martinez plays it like a 4 man back line backing up Peralta and doesn't slide into Peralta's central position. Peralta plays it loosely and allows the cross. Namoff loses the header battle to Barrett and Tino looses his mark thinking he needs to help Namoff. Multiple breakdowns on one play. Watched the replays and still can't see where our 2 dmids were and what they were doing. And again we are chasing the game and it goes back to the issues at the top. Second goal I give to the formation and Peralta. Chicago's forwards understand how to make runs that draw defenders out of zones so as Blanco brings the ball forward with Simms chasing, Namoff is covering a run, and Martinez has the other forward so Peralta needs to step up so Blanco doesn't get a free shot off. Will never know if Perkins would have saved that shot so I will not blame Wells for this. It's tough to be a GK without a defense. Liverbird, if you read Payne's comments he is dead on. We had several players brains napping on a couple of plays and paid for it. He is griping that they didn't play for all 90 and that is what he expects. I suspect that if he saw a 90 minute effort from all his players and we lost he wouldn't be making those comments. Hell, if we got that and had a 0-0 tie against a hot team we wouldn't be beating each other up right now. The Good: One decent half of play without two of our best players. Martinez never gave up and became our best offensive threat in the last 15 minutes. The Bad: Little to no creativity or runs in the final third. Little to no one touch passing in the final third. Role players seem to be below average by this years MLS standards. Our depth is not as good as we originally thought. The Ugly: Multiple defensive breakdowns in short spans of time. We keep digging ourselves into a deeper hole.
Make sure you understand that Tino deserves some of the blame. He should come back with "his head on a swivel" as I tell the kids I coach. However it is the ultimate responsibility of the GK/CD to makes sure that midfielder mistakes are corrected before becoming fatal per say.
also, isn't it supposed to be a red card when you touch the referee. prideaux looked like he was trying to start a fight with the ref and only got a yellow. wtf?
Not pushing it. While the East is very strong, I believe we will be in the top 4 by the end of the season. Series wise we should be able to beat TFC and Metroscum, play NE even. We need to play either Chicago or Crew even. That and keeping losses down to the West should put us in the top 4. Realized with so much change in the lineup that the Supporter Shield would be a reach. I had already written it off. Problem will be the lack of depth at the end of the season. Which team do you play for final standings and playoffs vs. CONCACAF? I hope to see some good changes in the summer transfer window.
Well, that did suck. Here are some of my comments, which may have been made before. Dynachenko thinks he is much smaller and faster than he is. Niell thinks he is much bigger than he is. Personally, I'd tell Dyno to get his big head in the box and stop trying to dribble through defenders, and I'd tell Niell to get out of the box and stop trying to win headers. Moreno represents United. He was the one of few who wanted it today. We're still trying to wait and make that perfect pass. Slow of thought, slow of movement, slow off the ball. Horrible first touches. We need 4 in the back. Wells isn't an MLS-level keeper. One thing most MLS teams have is a good, experienced goalie. Not us! I think this team is pressing. They know that they're not very good, that they don't have a lot of chance-creating stars, so they freeze up, trying to make everything perfect. You can see it. Hopefully a few in the back of the net will start getting them (and us) to believe again. Remember how streaky this team was last year. Chicago owns us at home.